Suicide Prevention
Suicide Prevention Certified Schools
The “Suicide Prevention Certified School” designation requires all of the following:
- All instructional personnel are required to complete two hours of a department-approved youth suicide awareness and prevention training every three years;
- The youth suicide awareness and prevention training must be included in the district’s continuing education or master inservice plan;
- The school has at least two school-based mental health services providers that are qualified to conduct a suicide risk assessment using a department-approved screening instrument; and
- The school or district has a policy requiring the use of an approved suicide risk assessment instrument administered by a school-based mental health services provider prior to requesting or initiating an involuntary examination due to concerns about a student’s suicide risk.
Schools that meet the criteria for a “Suicide Prevention Certified School” must report compliance to the Department of Education by submitting a completed SPCS Certification Form (PDF) to SuicidePreventionSchools@fldoe.org.
Attachment A: RSAT-2020 and Attachment B: SPCS Certification Form
Suicide Risk Assessment Instruments
The following are department-approved youth suicide risk assessment instruments per s. 1012.583, F.S., and Rule 6A-4.0010, F.A.C.:
- Columbia – Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS): Lifetime-Recent
- Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T)
- SAFE-T with C-SSRS
Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention Training for K-12 Instructional Personnel
The following are the free department-approved youth suicide awareness and prevention trainings for K-12 instructional personnel per s. 1012.583, F.S., and Rule 6A-4.0010, F.A.C.:
ACT on FACTS – 2019-20 National Version: 2-hour online training.
Professional Development Series – Module 5, “Youth Suicide: A Silent Epidemic": 2-hour online or face-to-face Inservice training from the Jason Foundation.
Professional Development Series – Module 2, Mental Health Issues Surrounding Suicidal Ideation: 2-hour online or face-to-face Inservice training from the Jason Foundation.
A school district may request approval of district-developed or adopted youth suicide awareness and prevention training materials by completing form RSAT-2020 and submitting it to SuicidePreventionSchools@fldoe.org.